>that if the euro gains strength in opec, the dollar will no
>longer be the currency of trade in oil. even if the euro
>simply gains parity, that's an issue.

i know, its called the oil-dollar nexus. it certainly is an issue but to say it is THE issue is alarmist.

>as reserve currency, the dollar would mean nothing. and
>since the gold standard isn't an issue anymore, that's all
>we have. nations will pull out of our banks, financial
>markets, etc.

certainly demand for the dollar will descrease, but the question is how much? unlike the member states of opec, the united states in not a developing nation whose sole export is oil.

>we already have no manufacturing economy. that's another
>problem. everyone else makes the goods. we just distribute
>them, and in the long run, that's NOT how you make money.

thats not true. america manufactures everything. you name it, we manufacture it.

>the oil producing nations (and oil consuming nations who
>have a stake in seeing us go down because they realize
>they're not getting a piece of the pie if we "win") have a
>lot of power behind this.

we live in a global economy. for the most part borders do not exist. because of this, international banks and industries have greater security. if demand for the dollar drops low europe, the middle east ,china, south america and everywhere feel the impact. no one wants to see the united states economy collapse. it is no one bests interest.

also, did you know that only 2 percent of the US GDP is spent on petroleum?